A bill that could have significantly expanded Oregon’s controversial gun control law just hit a major roadblock in Salem.
According to reporting from Bearing Arms, the Oregon Senate Rules Committee removed several of the most controversial provisions from House Bill 4145 during a work session Wednesday morning. The changes dramatically alter a proposal that originally aimed to modify how the state would implement voter-approved Measure 114.
Measure 114, which passed narrowly in 2022, includes a permit-to-purchase requirement for firearms and a ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds. However, the law has never taken effect due to ongoing legal challenges.
As originally written, House Bill 4145 would have made the process even more restrictive by more than doubling the cost of obtaining a gun permit and giving county sheriffs up to two months to approve or deny applications. Those provisions were stripped from the bill during the Senate committee’s review.
The committee did leave one major section intact. The bill would still push back the implementation date of Measure 114 until 2028. Supporters say the delay is necessary because the state has not yet created the infrastructure needed to manage the permit system.
The bill still faces several steps before becoming law. If the Senate passes the amended version, it must return to the Oregon House for approval of the changes before heading to Governor Tina Kotek’s desk. If lawmakers in the House reject the revisions, the legislation could move to a conference committee where both chambers attempt to reach a compromise.
There is also growing pressure for lawmakers to resolve the issue quickly. Measure 114 is technically scheduled to take effect later this month. However, enforcement remains blocked by a court injunction issued in 2023 by a Harney County judge.
The case is currently awaiting a decision from the Oregon Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on the constitutionality of the law in November 2025.
Meanwhile, a separate federal challenge to Measure 114 remains paused in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. That case includes challenges to the magazine ban and is currently waiting for potential guidance from the Supreme Court of the United States.
Several gun-related cases, including the challenge to California’s magazine ban in Duncan v. Bonta, have been repeatedly discussed during Supreme Court conferences this term. The justices are scheduled to review several firearm restriction cases again during their March 6 conference.
For now, the Senate committee’s changes represent a significant shift in the debate around Oregon’s gun law. While the permit-to-purchase system and magazine ban remain unresolved in court, lawmakers appear to be backing away from adding new costs and longer wait times for gun owners — at least for the moment.
Source: Bearing Arms
